Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Learning to Be

I had to laugh at myself yesterday - I had a "day off" of sorts, thanks to my guest blogger, but I was antsy...so I'm going to admit I actually started this painting yesterday. I probably should have worked on one of my non-daily paintings, but as some changes Monday made Tuesday the busier day, I decided to be on the safe side and start drawing out this new one.

This is 9 x 12 (sorry I got it wrong when I posted originally!), oil on masonite, with my usual limited palette. The panel was only very faintly tinted, and I was really surprised how much of a difference that made! As is often the case, this isn't a great photo because the paint is still wet, but even still, I think you'll probably see how strong the colours are. Seems my Cadmium Red decided it wanted a leading role. I actually decided I would post an in-progress photo on Twitter to see what kind of feedback I got and when it was positive, I thought I would just go with it. Of course those helpful commenters aren't seeing the painting first hand....yeah...it's bright! Oh well...nothing wrong with some colour! All I can think is how now I have to clean my brushes, and Cad Red, being a strong colour, is going to be a bit reluctant to come out!

Oh, the "story"....this is Gracie, last summer, with her mom, Twine. I love watching the foals grow up, and it's always cool to see them start the reciprocal grooming. All part of learning to be a horse! And if you've ever spent any time with foals, you'll know that if you scratch them on the withers, they'll try to return the favour!